Sealed Away
by ScarlettLovesRhett
Summary: Once upon a time and happily ever after are some of the most familiar phrases in the story telling world. But what happens when happily ever after is a lifetime away?


Sealed Away

Once upon a time and happily ever after are some of the most familiar phrases of the story telling world. But what happens when happily ever after is a lifetime away?

The dark clouds rolled through the heavens pushing away the lovely ice blue sky. The thunder rolled and lightning cracked. The wind began to pick up as the trees moved swiftly. A lovely girl of 17 began collecting her cleaning items as big, round drops fell from the heavens. Even through the dirt, soot and grim that lingered on her face and hands she truly was a vision. Her skin was like porcelain, eyes the color of two big green lily pads, hair a light chocolate brown that lay at her shoulders. Her slender figure stood at a full 5'6. The girl was the most beautiful woman in all of the land.

Once when the land was still lovely and people still cared about one another; she was the most talked about. How kind and carrying she was. How she hardly had a negative thing to say about anyone. How she loved to help those in need. She truly was the light of the kingdom and the light of her father's eye. The girl was the princess the whole kingdom had dreamed about. However, when the king died of tuberculosis one year in the dead of winter the new queen, queen Azalea took over with a vengeances. After being pushed away by the town people, the king and her stepdaughter she could now do what she pleased and no one could stop her. So the days of utter darkness came to the kingdom; and no one ever heard from the lovely princess. No one ever knew what became of her.

…

As the girl carried the heavy bucket of muck, dark water she tripped over a step and fell to her knees spilling the water. Oh, no, she needed to get things cleaned up and inside before the storm hit. Scrounging to get everything picked up she failed to notice a young man standing before her.

"Let me help you miss." The young man knelt down to help the poor girl.

The girl looked up and came face to face with the young man. She studied him before their eyes met. He was tall. 6'3, eyes the color of a soft grey cloud, brown curly hair, strong jaw line, muscular arms and a gentle, carrying smile.

The girl's hair fell in her face. Taking her hand she quickly brushed it aside hoping the man didn't notice. Reaching out she touched his hand to take the bucket. As she touched his hand a current went through her hand and up her arm. "Thank you,"

"You are very welcome," he smiled at her once again. She was indeed very beautiful. She almost looked like the princess from so long ago.

"Laura! Get in here!"

Laura jerked back and looked to the balcony. Her stepmother the queen stood watching over them.

"Yes, ma'am," Laura quickly took the bucket and did not look back. Running into the castle she leaned up against a wall. She could hear her stepmother talking to the stranger down below.

"Aw, Prince Warren, it's good to see you,"

"A prince?" Laura questioned? She looked down at her dirty hands and then shut her eyes. She was the princess of the land, the daughter of the late king. She should be living the life of a princess. Getting married and ruling with the man of her dreams. Instead she was treated like a scullery maid. Tears spilled over and down her dirty face. Who would want to be with her? She wasn't at all what a princess should be. As Laura thought about her worthless life she could hear footsteps. Dashing down the corridor she disappeared from the prince's sight. But not before he caught a glimpse of her.

Running into a nearby room Laura shut the door and walked in a little farther. This was her late mother's room. Laura took a deep breath. She could still smell her, could still see her. Going over to a chest she took out a silver key. Opening the chest she took out a silver crown guided by jewels of many different shapes and sizes. Placing it on her head Laura smiled to herself in a nearby mirror. That was how it was supposed to be.

Hearing the door open Laura turned around. Seeing the prince standing there she quickly took her crown, her birth right off her head. "Oh, I'm sorry; I must have the wrong room." Laura just stood there stunned. "I'm Prince Warren, you must be Laura," the girl nodded her head in agreement. "We met outside earlier," he gave her another sweet smile. "I know this is silly, but you know you look so much like the princess that people used to talk about."

Laura all of a sudden felt air filling her lungs. "I am-"

"Laura!" Queen Azalea yelled as her figure stood in the doorway. "Get out of this room! And stop bothering the prince. He has far better things to do then talk with you."

"No, it's fine," Warren said holding up his hand. Laura put her crown back in the dark box and put it back into the darkness. Running from the room Laura refused to look the prince in the eye. She had ruined everything and her stepmother would see that she was punished severely.

"Who, is she?" Warren asked as if he already didn't know. He looked at the door as if she would come back. "She's so beautiful."

The queen could feel her blood boiling within her. "She is a nobody" the queen looked at the man, but could tell he wasn't satisfied. "The girl is my personal servant." Queen Azalea led the prince away to discuss matters with him elsewhere.

Later that day Laura was cleaning the throne room when she heard horse hooves; going over to a nearby window she saw the prince leaving. Resting her hand on the smooth glass she could feel her heart breaking. "No, please don't leave. I'm all alone here." Tears ran down her face for the second time that day. Her body trembled with sadness and fear. Why did she feel this way? She barley even knew the man and yet she felt as if she had known him all her life. "Please come back," she begged aloud this time. Banging her hand against the glass she fell to her knees in a mess of tears. The tears wiped away some of the dirt on her cheeks as they slid to the floor. She pulled her knees to her chest and just let herself go. Laura buried her face into her callused worn hands as her knees remained pressed against her chest. As Laura tried to console herself footsteps came into the room. She refused to look up because she knew who it was. Her evil stepmother would do whatever she wanted to make herself look beautiful and all powerful while Laura remained the lowest of the low.

The footsteps finally stopped. Looking up Laura saw her stepmother standing just inches from her. The look in the evil queen's dark black eyes told Laura she should be in fear for her life. "Get up!" the queen pulled Laura took her feet. Laura couldn't go anywhere. There was no place behind her; and in the doorway stood two guards that Queen Azalea had hired to keep Laura locked away within the castle walls. Still having the grip on Laura's arm the queen dragged her from the room. Laura screamed, kicked and fought her way to be free. However, Laura was able to get her right hand free from her stepmothers grasp. Taking her hand she slapped her stepmother across the face. The queen stopped dead in her tracks. She glared at her stepdaughter as her hand grazed her soft creamy skin. No one laid a hand on the queen! Lifting her left hand Queen Azalea struck her stepdaughter in the same fashion. Only the queen took her long, skinny, black, sharp finger nails and dung them into the girls lovely face.

"OW!" Laura cried out. Taking her hand to her face Laura could feel the red sticky substance filling her hand. As deep as the wound was she knew it would leave a scar. Laura could feel a puddle of blood filling her hand. Queen Azalea snapped her fingers together. The two guards advanced forward. Approaching her the two guards took Laura's arms. As they held her against her will Laura took a glimpse at her right hand. Crimson covered the dirty surface.

"Where to my lady?" one of the guards asked as they tightened their grip.

"To the room of mirrors," the queen smiled darkly.

"What's the room of mirrors?" Laura asked. Now she was truly sacred. What was going to become of her? Not answering her stepdaughter the queen just gave her a sinister smile and snapped her fingers again. As the guards led Laura away three drops of blood fell from her wound and splattered the stone flooring.

The guards led her down the hall and into a room that Laura had never seen before. The room had marble flooring, the walls were stone, one stain glass window and four mirrors in a half circle in the center of the room; while red velvet drapes draped over each of the mirrors. The guards threw her into the room and did not let her out. The queen soon arrived. "What do you want with me? You destroyed my life years ago. What more could you want?" Laura questioned.

"More then you know my dear. You see you have one thing that I've always wanted. I always wanted to be the most beautiful and my mother told me I would have it someday. But she lied to me. I wasn't but now I will be."

"You can't change what's happened. What is done is done." Laura shot back. She wasn't going to let her stepmother control her life anymore.

"Yes, I can and it will by starting with you." The stepmother held up her hands and a few sparks came from them and then soon her hands were full of electric currencies. As she threw her hands forward Laura went into the mirrors. A bright white light appeared and Laura was forever in the mirror.

"No! Let me out. Please!" Laura banged on the thick glass. But it was no use it was far too thick to break with just her hands. "You can't do this to me!"As her hand rested on the cool glass she noticed that she was wearing a dark velvet purple dress with a gold belt around her waist instead of her normal rags.

"I believe I already have." A laughed pierced the mirror room as the queen knew she had finally done what she sent to do. "Just be happy I let you where your princess dress."

As Laura fell to her knees with her head bowed her mother's crown fell from her head. Her cries echoed throughout the room and down the hall. She soon faded away after a long struggle.

"It seems like my work is done." The queen left the room with pride. However, as she left the room boots could be heard running down the hall. Turning she found Price Warren standing before her. "Look who it is."

"Where is she?" questioned Warren.

"I'm sure I don't know who you mean dear boy. Now why don't you come with me and you can have a nice hot cup of tea."

"The princess, what have you done with her?" From the moment he met her he thought she looked liked the princesss and he shouldn't have left here knowing that what he thought were true.

"The princess? Warren she died years go from the same disease as the king. Didn't you know that?" the queen would soon have him eating out of her hands.

"Help!" Laura's raw voice came. "Help me!" her voice echoed from the room and down the hall.

"Where is she? Which room? Tell me!" the prince drew his sward and drew it up to the queen's throat.

"It's too late you will never save her now." The queen laughed wickedly.

"I can still try. Tell me which room!" He still held the knife at her throat. He pulled the queen down the hall until she finally gave in.

"That room there." The queen pointed to a blank spot in the wall.

"There's no door." Warren knew dark magic knew what had to be done. Beating on the door it opened. Pushing the witch in first he followed in quickly. As he entered he hopoed to find the princess, but sadly all he found were four mirrors.

"Warren!" Laura appeared in the mirror.

"What did you do to her!?" Warren yelled at the evil old witch. He knew the whole time that she was the princess. The look in her eyes, the kindness of her smile. Everything about her told him that she was the long lost princess.

"Just what you see," The evil queen showed no remorse towards what she had done. "She got what she deserved. She was a little spoiled selfish little brat and I did what I had to do."

Warren knew that couldn't be right. After what he witnessed earlier she could never be that way. She was too good. "How do I save her?" his hands pressed up against the glass right were Laura's lay. She looked so scared, so frail and so lost. She had been lost for 15 years and now she was found again. Only this time he wasn't sure a happy ending would come out of it.

There was a long silence for a several moments. "By smashing the mirrors," a dark laugh came from her throat as she knew the prince would do just that. Finish off what she had started and it would be all his fault.

Without a second thought Warren stepped back and swung his mighty sword at the mirrors. "Warren, no!" Laura yelled in shock.

The mirrors began breaking and cracking. Soon a bright light flashed from the mirrors. Covering his face the glass flew in every direction. As soon as the mirrors were done breaking Warren was able to throw down his hands so he could see his dear princess standing before him. But there was no princess. Only glass and sparkle among the many pieces.

Laura appeared once more. But only this time in the smaller pieces of the mirror and she began fading away faster then earlier. She smiled at him weakly. Behind that smile her heart ached with pain. She would never have her happily ever after. "You set me free. You saved me from my evil stepmother's powers." Tears were filing her eyes as she knew she only had just a few moments left. "Thank you. I will always remember you and I will always love you." With that she vanished and never returned again. Warren picked up the pieces and held them to his chest and cried over the broken pieces and over his broken heart. She was gone and he had caused her death.

**Binghamton State Hospital,**** New York City, 1945 **

Locked away deep within the walls of the asylum lived a girl destined to live out her fantasy. "I'm the princess," Laura declared as she beat on the patted walls of the cell. During the war years her father had died of tuberculosis and her birth mother was locked away do to the fact that she had schizophrenia. So her father married again. Her stepmother was supposedly just like she was in Laura's fantasy; harsh, cold, mean and hostile towards her. But Laura had no way of proving this.

Her stepmother Azalea had the girl committed after a series of attacks. Saying that her stepdaughter claimed to be this princess from a faraway place and also attacked her several times trying to claw at her as if she were an animal. After test were conducted and doctors checked her out it had been decided that Laura to was suffering from schizophrenia. Just like her dearly departed mother. So the stepmother had her put away to never see the light of day ever again.

Laura walked over to a window. She could only see herself and the outside world. She looked awful. She was skin and bone, her hair lay in a matted mess and she looked dirty just like she had in her hallucination. Where was her lovely purple velvet dress or her mother's crown? Where was her prince charming? Why hadn't he set her free?

However, while Laura did all these things and said all these things the doctors and nurses could see every move she made from where they stood. But Laura somehow knew this she could since that they were there. "Please, Warren, let me out," she pressed her hands against the cool smooth surface.

The nurses and two other doctors turned to face one doctor in particular. The young doctor around Laura's age just kept looking forward. "Doctor Warren is she talking about you?" one of the nurses questioned with an eyebrow raised.

The doctor never took his eyes off the window or from the girl he used to know…and love. He could still see the scar that her stepmother had left when she struck her once with her long finger nails and not to mention the stain Azalea had left on Laura's life. "No," he could feel his heart breaking, but what could he do? Tell them yes that, that was the girl he loved? A crazy girl? Then they would all think he was crazy. She hadn't always been like that.

It had really taken a toll on her since the death of her father just six months early. She used to be the Laura he had first seen washing the steps leading up to her family's big estate. She used to be the Laura that always gave him a smile. But she was no more. That princess was no more.

**A/N: What do you think? The mirror is supposed to be the apple and instead of true love breaking the curse it destroys the love. Was it twisted enough? Review please :) **


End file.
